Adding 2nd set of JL 8.8’s to FX one tower.

[KYScott]

Progress.....

Speakers installed on tower, had to use JL pipe clamps as Supra FXONE tower clamps are not available to aftermarket. This offsets the inner speakers slightly rearward, but I like the look.



Tower is wired and speaker leds and down firing lights were all plug and play with factory Amphenol connectors.

Traced factory speaker wires looking for the ends for the inner speakers to wire to amp. It’s not fully wired from the factory for all 4 tower speakers, but very close.

There are two Amphenol connectors that are 4 pin for wiring from the tower but only 2 output pins are hooked up for 2 speaker boats.

Easy enough to add wires and two more pins for the new speakers. But about 80% plug and play using factory harness.



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I'm getting ready to do the exact same thing. I purchased 2 speakers and brackets from someone upgrading to wetsounds. They will match my existing 2 speakers perfectly. So what do i have to do about wiring? The amphenol connectors are there in the tower. What wiring is required on the other end?

Would greatly appreciate your help! Thank you!

[larry_arizona]

If you have factory speakers it’s much easier.

The Factory plugs at the speaker side should be plug n play.

Climb into the starboard dog house and find the speaker plugs. I had to clip a few zip ties and you should get enough slack to work on them comfortably.

Then it’s a matter of running two left side wires and two right side wires and attaching to your new amp.

Did you get a JL 800/8 amp to run your 4 towers?


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[Isaguel]

Great topic. I've been thinking about this upgrade in the future, maybe next year. Just planning on cost. The instructions you all provided seem pretty clear, straightforward, even for someone who has never done this before, like me. So this is great info.

Quest:
the speakers you added do not have the down firing LED lights. I found these at Crutchfield:

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-9S12cS...yABEgLESvD_BwE

Is this what u used? Did u find the ones with the integrated down firing LED's anywhere.?
The brackets in these speakers are round, I'm guessing I can remove them and install the angle brackets u mentioned, or did u get a diff speaker altogether.?

The amp I found is this:

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-KX7BFI...iABEgLE6vD_BwE

So I'm guessing a total cost of <2400$, including the aftermarket angle brackets.

Does this all sound about right?

Unlike the Moomba, I plan to keep this boat for a looong time. (Under spousal threat). So I bought it with plans of slowly adding DIY upgrades over time. Things such as this, a second set of racks, prop, Phender Pro's, et. al.

[larry_arizona]

You can use the aftermarket JL 8.8’s with the JL tube clamps. It takes some additional work but I actually like the look of the finished product. I personally like the center set being slightly offset. Gives it some depth.





You can also add the JL downfiring LED tail cones to match the factory ones. You order them right from JL website. I think I got them on sale for $150

You can also buy the Supra specific version of the JL 8.8’s, it’s the only way to get the factory speaker mount. They are $$$ but are truly plug and play.

As far as the amp, your 2020 has the newer JL
mvi amps, the 800/8i is around $1200


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[MLA]

For the cost, an amp like the Wet Sounds Syn-DX2 or the Kicker KXMA1200.2 are far better then M series 8 chnl bridged into 4. WAY too many RCA splitters required to make it work correctly. The Syn-DX2 is going to deliver similar wattage and only require a single pair of RCA. The KXMA1200.2 is going to also only require a single pair of RCA and yield a ton of wattage head room.

[sandm]

holy paycheck batman...... $1200+ for that JL amp is insane.

[larry_arizona]

For the cost, an amp like the Wet Sounds Syn-DX2 or the Kicker KXMA1200.2 are far better then M series 8 chnl bridged into 4. WAY too many RCA splitters required to make it work correctly. The Syn-DX2 is going to deliver similar wattage and only require a single pair of RCA. The KXMA1200.2 is going to also only require a single pair of RCA and yield a ton of wattage head room.

For the cost, an amp like the Wet Sounds Syn-DX2 or the Kicker KXMA1200.2 are far better then M series 8 chnl bridged into 4. WAY too many RCA splitters required to make it work correctly. The Syn-DX2 is going to deliver similar wattage and only require a single pair of RCA. The KXMA1200.2 is going to also only require a single pair of RCA and yield a ton of wattage head room.

When I added the 800/8 in place of the 400/4 like the factory does it, it still only uses 4 RCA plugs total, wether you have 2 or 4 tower speakers, the tower is one zone.

I think you only need one JL mvi amp to take advantage of the mvi “tun” features


Right or wrong, I wanted my system to be like the factory set up.

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[MLA]

When I added the 800/8 in place of the 400/4 like the factory does it, it still only uses 4 RCA plugs total, wether you have 2 or 4 tower speakers, the tower is one zone.

I think you only need one JL mvi amp to take advantage of the mvi “tun” features


Right or wrong, I wanted my system to be like the factory set up.

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If you populated 4 RCA on an M800/8 bridged in 4 chnl mode and its one volume zone, then there is an RCA split somewhere. To make the most of the M800/8 in 4 chnl mode to 4 full-range speakers, you have to populate all 8 RCA inputs. JL's own engineers state this, its in the amps manual as well. This is also common with bridging many other full-range amps.

I have not dove too deep into the mvi amps, but I believe the DSP function allows you to overcome the input/bridging conundrum you have with the M series amps.

[larry_arizona]

If you populated 4 RCA on an M800/8 bridged in 4 chnl mode and its one volume zone, then there is an RCA split somewhere. To make the most of the M800/8 in 4 chnl mode to 4 full-range speakers, you have to populate all 8 RCA inputs. JL's own engineers state this, its in the amps manual as well. This is also common with bridging many other full-range amps.

I have not dove too deep into the mvi amps, but I believe the DSP function allows you to overcome the input/bridging conundrum you have with the M series amps.

Not sure on splitters but it’s wired identical as the factory 4 tower speakers.


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[KYScott]

Progress.....

Speakers installed on tower, had to use JL pipe clamps as Supra FXONE tower clamps are not available to aftermarket. This offsets the inner speakers slightly rearward, but I like the look.



Tower is wired and speaker leds and down firing lights were all plug and play with factory Amphenol connectors.

Traced factory speaker wires looking for the ends for the inner speakers to wire to amp. It’s not fully wired from the factory for all 4 tower speakers, but very close.

There are two Amphenol connectors that are 4 pin for wiring from the tower but only 2 output pins are hooked up for 2 speaker boats.

Easy enough to add wires and two more pins for the new speakers. But about 80% plug and play using factory harness.



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How did you insert 2 new speaker wires into the Amphenol connector's open pin slots? Is there a special tool to do this or do you just shove them into the connector? I've located the connectors and they have 2 open slots, just don't know how to make connection...